Reversible hydraulic jack



Oct. 21, 1952 F. s. COYLE REVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC JACK 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed July 17, 1950 1 3 w 6 2 "M V J M\ 0 w 0 J J 1 L J m w. M

BY n am Oct. 21, 1952 F. s. COYLE 2,614,389

REVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC JACK Filed July 17, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Francis 8- Coy/e INVENTOR.

98 BY 3m Patented Oct. 21, 1952 "REVERSIBLE HYDRAULIC JACK Francis S. Coy le Paonia, 0010., assignor of fifty .per cent toWendell P. Cpyle, Eagleville,:Mo.

--- Application-'-July 1'7, msmserialrim-174,329] j The presentinventionrelates to improvements in hydraulic jacks, and more particularly to the type oi hydraulic jackwell adapted to be em ployed for lifting automotive'vehicles and the like. l

An object of the present invention is toproskolsims. (or. 60-52) videa hydraulic jack whereby'tlie lifting movement of the jack is accomplished by rotary movement of a handle.

'A further object-of the present'inventionis to provide a" rotary hydraulic jackth'at' is positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a'working position and easily: disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority'and' serviceability.

The invention 'also comprises novel details of constructionand novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawings merely Show and the following description merely describe an embodiment of the present invention; whicli'a-re given by way of illustration or example only;

Themeans'by which the objects oflthe-present invention ar'e accomplished include a substantially cylindrical housing open at both ends with a cap closing the upper end' and having a drive shaft opening therein-and a piston' closingthe opposite end andslidably disposed in said housing, apressure head mounted in thehousing intermediate its ends and-havinga pair of vertically disposed grooves on its inner surface, a drive shaft extending'into the housing through the opening in "the capga pressureauger integrally formed on the lower 'end of-said shaft and 'disposed within the pressure head, retaining means 'sealingly'maintaining the pressure head in a preselected position in the housin a plurality of spiral-grooves on the pressure auger, -a ball return passage in the auger and communicating of the pressure head thereby relievingthe'pressure of the fluid in the lower chamber and permitting the flow of thefluid" from "-theilower chamber past the pressure "head and auger-into the upper chamber thereby allowingv the jack to collapse. Various otherobjects and advantages willbe apparent from'the detailed description to follow. In 'th'e'description as well as in, the claims, parts are at times-identified by s'p'ecific'names for:con-

' venience, but such nomenclature is intended to be asgeneric in itsa'pplication to analogous parts as the prior art will permit.

The best form m hich I have contemplated applying my invention is ill-ustratedinthe "ac companying drawings, wherein: J Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the rotary hydraulic jack of the presentinventi'on positioned for lifting an automotive-vehicle;

stantiall'y along the plane of line- 2 t or Figural n i Figure 3 is a horizontal transverse sectional view taken substantially al'ong'thef "plane 'of line "*Figure 4 is a horizontal transverse-sectional view taken substantially along the plane' o f'line dlofFigure2; v I 'Figure'5 is a vertical sectional-viewtaken sub stantially along theplane of line 5'-5' or Figure3; 3 Figure 6 is a vertical sectionalvi'ew' taken substantially at right angles to the'plane of-the "section of Figure 5 and showing the interiorbf the pressure auger with the ball check' valvefin unseated position for lowering of the'hydraulic jack;

sure head elements;

" Figure 3 is a detail view of the 'unitaryspring employed with the present invention; and

the upper and lower ends o'fthe spiral grooves and vertically disposed grooves a spring closed-ball check valve positioned atthe lower end'of the ball return passage and adapted to close an opening in the bottom of the pressure head, the openingin the pressure head being in communication with the spiral and vertically disposed grooves, a plurality of balls in the v grooves and 'ball' return passage adapted to be motivated by rotation of the drive shaft and pressure auger and the relative movement of the pressure auger groove with respect to the pressure head groove whereby fluidv above-the pressure'head is pumped through the groove and into the chamber behind the piston, and whereby' when "the drive shaft is rotated in a reverse T direction, the balls in the grooves will be moved in an opposite direction and will be forced into the centrally disposed passage in the pressure auger and will bear against the ball'checlrvalve urging it away from the opening in the bottom stand means for the hydraulic jack;-numeral l8 v s Figure 9 is'a top plan view of the unitary spring oij Figure 8, as viewed'from line 9 ;9.

'Referring more particularly to 'the drawings, wherein; like numerals designate like parts throughout, numeral It) designates generally the substantially cylndrical housing of the present invention, numeral l2 designates generally the cap structure of thehousing, numeral I4 designates'generally the manual operating r'neans for the jack, numeral 16 designates generally the designates generally the piston means, and numeral 2B designates generally the means 1 for pumping thefiuid from the upper chamber to thelower chamber for lifting the hydraulic jack. The hydraulic jackhousing Illis formed from I anfupper portion 22 of substantially uniform diameter having external threads 24 at its upper end and'a constricted portion forming a shoulder 26 to which is integrally formed the lowe re- 'duced diameter portion'28 of the housing;- .I'he

Figure 21s a vertical sectional-view taken sub Figure '7 is a detail' View of one 'ofthe pre'sjo downwardly it will reach a limit' position by retention of the piston ring 32 in the groove 3 v The piston I8 is of subtantially cylindrical form and has its lower end closed at 34 and.

integrally formed with a ball portion 36. I

The base means I6 is formed from a block 38 provided with cross-hatching 40 on its lower surface and upwardly extending fingers 42 surrounding a recess 44. The ball 36 is received within the fingers 42 and recess 44 and the tips of the fingers 42 arepeened over for retaining the ball therein and providing a universal joint mounting for the hydraulic jack.

The cap section I2 for the upper portion 22 of the cylindrical housing I is of substantially cup-shape having an internally threaded portion 46 threadably engaged on the threaded end portion 24 of the housing. The cup-shape member is also formed with centrally disposed bosses provided with an opening 48 therethrough for receiving the drive shaft. The lower boss 50 of the cup-shape member is recessed at 52 for receiving packing 54 and is internally threaded for receiving a packing retainer 56 whereby the drive shaft 58 will be sealingly reciprocable or rotatablein the opening 48.

The drive shaft 58 is provided at its upper end with a non-circular portion 69 whereby a handle 62 of any conventional selected form may be mounted for rotation of the shaft.

-An intermediate portion of the inner surface of the housing 22 is internally threaded at 64. Looking now at Figures and "7, a pair of pressure'headelements 66. are positioned within the housing I9 and have connecting flanges 68 which areadapted to abut the shoulder 26. The pressure head elements 66 are of substantially semispherical form and are connected together by means of a plurality of screws I9 engaged in apertures I2 of the flanges 68. The entirepressure head is provided with a pair of grooves vertically disposed on the inner surface of its hollow interior. Each of the grooves I4 is provided with a pressure channel entrance portion .'I6-at its upper end. The pressure head is also provided with openings I8 and an providing communication with the interior of the pressure head.

- The pressure head elements 66 which are disposed in abutting relation with the shoulder 26 are held therein by a pressure plate 82 which isthreadably engaged with the threads 64 of the housing ID, the plate 82 being provided with grooves 84 for receiving the upper edges of the flanges 68 whereby rotation of the pressure head elements with respect to the plate 82 is prevented.

The lower end of the drive shaft 58 is integrally I formed with a pressure auger 8t which is of substantially the same diameter as the internal diameter of the pressure head, being slidably disposed therein for free rotation. The pressure auger 86 is provided with a plurality of spirally disposed grooves 88. The pressure auger 86 is also provided with a centrally disposed ball return passage 90 terminating at its upper end in communication with the lower ends of the spiral grooves 88 at its lower end. The lower portion of the ball return passage is also counter.-

spring;98 are shown at I00 and I02.

in aplurality of outlet passages 92 and being 4 bored at 94 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. As seen best in Figure 6, the lower ends of the channels or grooves I4 are provided with cam surfaces 96 for directing the balls in an upward direction, as hereinafter disclosed.

Figure 8 shows the unitary spring employed with the present invention and the ends of the A major portion of the spring 98 is coiled to a uniform diameter and a central portion of the spring is conically spiraled at I04 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The ends I09 and I02 of the spring 98 are positioned within the counterbore 94 and have the ends embeddedin the auger as at I06. The lower end I08 of the spring 98 is positioned within a ball check valve recess H9 and is resiliently held therein by its own tension, or may be secured if desired. The resiliency of the spring 98-maintains'the ball check valve H2 in the position shown in Figure 2.

A plurality of balls H4 are positioned within the ball return passage and within the spring 98 with the lowermost ball resiliently engaging the conical portion I04 of the spring.

As shown in Figure 6 the spring 98 is under tension so that when one of the grooves 88- and I4 come into registry the spring tension will push one of the balls H4 into the open tops of these grooves. Obviously, the cam action of the groove 88 will continue to force the ball down the groove I4. As soon as three balls have moved into the three grooves 88 an oil pressure will be established which will push the balls H4 upward through the tube 90 so that they will be continuously forced into the coinciding openings of grooves 88 and I4.

The helical spirals of the coil spring 98 form a barrier to prevent the balls H4 from following the fluid past the check valve into the pressure cylinder of the device. Attention is directed to the fact that the upturned lip 96 forces the ball directly through the helical coils of the spring so that they are inside the spring and consequently cannotescape into ,the pressure cylinder. I

Since the balls H4 fit substantially oil tight in each of the channels including the return ball channel 90 and since the volume of oil distributed in the auger grooves is materially greater than the volume of oil in the interstices between the balls H4 inthe channel 99 it will be readily apparent that a high pressure will be established at the bottoms of oil delivery auger grooves. This pressure will not only be sufiicient to raise the check valve H2 against the spring pressure but also suflicient to overcome the back pressure from the oil in a pressure cylinder therebelow.

In the operation of the jack in lifting a load the oil fiows down continuously from the oil reservoir H8 through the oil passage I3 and through the oil groove, into the'open tops of the vertical and spiral pressure channels I4 and B8 and fills them as rapidly as the balls H4 already in them move downward. Then, as the ball I I4 already in the pair of vertical and spiral pressure channels reaches their bottoms and is is about to be forced out into the bottom of the ball return, the top of that spiral pressure channel will come into coincidence with the top of the other vertical pressure channel and the ball in the spiral pressure channel outlet will be forced, by back pressure of the oil up the ball return, out into the tops of both the this pressure has forced open, and down into the cylinder. When this ball reaches the bottom of the vertical and spiral pressure channels down through which it is traveling, it is forced I vice has been provided which will accomplish I out between the rotating, spiralling wires of the checkvalve spring which should give it a push upward and into the bottom of the ball return where the back pressure of the oil below 7 will force it up the ball return again to the ball return outlets, where it will begin a new cycle of oil pressure again.

Since the top of a spiral pressure channel will be rotated into coincidence, alternately with the tops of the two vertical pressure channels, which are opposite each other, it will operate alternately with those two vertical pressure channels. Therefore, a ball will enter the top of a spiral pressure channel and a vertical pressure channel just before the preceding ball leaves the bottoms of that same spiral pressure channel and the opposite vertical pressure channel.

The rate of discharge of oil from the bottom of each vertical pressure channel will be variable throughout each pressure cycle since the ball travels downward and around the pressure auger at a constant pitch and since the pressure auger is spherical the rate of discharge from the bottom of the spiral pressure channel will begin at zero, rise with a constantly increasing velocity to a maximum as the ball reaches its center, then declines with a constantly decreasing velocity as the ball descends down into its bottom. Since there are two vertical, and three spiral pressure channels and since each of the pressure channels participates in a cycle of oil pressure in each one-half of a rotation of the pressure auger, it will readily be seen that the balls H4 will be in various stagesof travel and Will give substantially uniform flow of the fluid from the upper to the lower chambers. Obviously, if the fluid enters the chamber I the rotary hydraulic jack housing l0 will be forced upwardly with respect to the piston l8 and the base i6.

When it is desired to relieve the pressure from ;he lower chamber and permit the jack to be .owered, the handle [4 is rotated in an opposite iirection causing the balls -I H to ride upwardly .n the channels entering the outlet passages of ;he auger until all of the balls are in the posi- :ion shown in Figure 6, the plurality of balls forcing the lowermost ball into engagement with ;he conical tip of the spring at I04 and forcing ;he ball check valve H2 from the seat H3 and )ermitting flow of fluid from the lower cham- )81' through the channels into the upper cham- Jer.

It will readily be seen that when the rotary hylraulic jack is being used for lifting purposes, ;he ball will pass downwardly in the channels ind engage the cam surface 96 and at the same ;ime the ball check valve will be in a slightly )pen position with the springs slightly expanded )ermitting the ball to be injected between the :oils of the spring and into the ball return pas- :age.

It is believed that from the foregoing, a deall the objects hereinabove set forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new is:

1. A rotary hydraulic jack comprising a substantially cylindrical housing open at both ends,-

a cap closing the upper end and having a drive shaft opening therein, a piston closing the opposite end and slidably disposed in said housing, a pressure head mounted in said housing intermediate its ends and having a pair of vertically disposed grooves on its inner surface, a drive shaft extending into said housing through said opening in said cap, a pressure auger integrally formed on the lower end of said shaft and disposed within said pressure head, retaining means sealingly maintaining said pressure head in a preselected position in said housing, a plurality of spiral grooves on said pressure auger, a ball return passage in said auger and communicating with the upper and lower .ends of said spiral grooves and vertically disposed grooves, a spring closed ball check valve positioned at the lower end of said ball return passage and adapted to close an opening in the bottom of said pressure head, the opening in said pressure head being in communication with said spiral and vertically disposed grooves, a plurality of balls in said grooves and ball r'eturn passage adapted to be motivated by rotation of said drive shaft and pressure auger and the relative movement of the pressure auger groove with respect to the pressure head groove whereby fluid above said pressure head is pumped through the grooves and into the chamber behind said piston.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said housing is formed with a reduced portion and said pressure head is positioned within said housing and abuts the shoulder formed by the reduction in diameter of said housing, said retaining means including a pressure plate disposed in abutting relation to said pressure head for urging said head against said shoulder.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said pressure head includes a pair of elements of subf stantially semi-spherical and hollow form and in abutting relation, one of said grooves being formed in each of said elements, and fluid passages at the upper and lower ends of said head in communication with said grooves and passage.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said ball check valve is positioned below said pressure head and resiliently maintained in sealing engagement with said opening in the bottom of said pressure head, the balls in said grooves forcing fluid past said valve when said shaft is rotated.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the b means for resiliently maintaining said valve in position includes a coil spring having one end REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,941,141 Roth Dec. 26, 1933 2,146,403 Nilson Feb. 7, 1939 

